A Sonic Phantom Manor
by sonicshadowlover13
Summary: Based on Disneyland Paris's Phantom Manor ride. Sonic and his friends come to Thunder Mesa City to celebrate Halloween since it's a ghost town for everyone to visit. But, on Halloween night, Sonic wants to check out the manor that is haunted for years. Once inside, there is no turning back. They run into ghosts, a bride, and a menacing phantom who keeps souls trapped.
1. Chapter 1

***Chapter 1: Thunder Mesa City***

* * *

People wandered around the streets of the city. Some are taking photos of buildings of an old town that was built from the 1800s. But the place is decorated with Halloween. It's the day before Halloween night, and everyone was excited for it. Even the heroes who arrive at Thunder Mesa.  
Sonic sat by the brick wall, looking around the city with his best friends. Tails is hovering above the blue hedgehog with his twin tails to see a better view, but spotted a manor on the hill ahead of town. His eyes widened. He lowered himself to Sonic.

"Sonic! There's manor on top of that hill over there! I know about that place!" He said. Sonic looked at him.

"Manor?"

"Yeah. It's a Ravenswood Manor! Built by Henry Ravenswood." Tails replied. Before Sonic could ask more about the manor, Amy came up to them with Knuckles, Rouge, and Sally.

"Okay guys! Our rooms are ready to put our things inside!" Amy said. So, the mobian heroes grabbed their suitcases and walk towards the motel they will be staying for two nights. Sonic looked around and realized that two people are missing.

"Where's Shadow and Silver?" Sonic asked.

"Inside." Rouge replied. "They want to hang around at the bar after the long flight to get here. They will be so relaxed when they get to their rooms."

"Too bad that Blaze couldn't come with us. Silver was disappointed that she couldn't come." Sonic said.

"Well, you know that cat. She must remain in her world to protect the Soul Emeralds." Knuckles said. "Least I have someone to watch the Master Emerald for me."

"Who'd you get?" Tails asked.

"I paid Shade to watch it." Knuckles replied. Rouge turned to him with a surprised look on her face.

"Shade? That echidna girl from that group of Marauders?" She asked. "It's been a long time since we saw her."

"Yeah. I trust her with that emerald." Knuckles replied in a quiet tone. "Just wish that she could stay in our world where it's safer. Don't know why she wants to remain in her ruin world."

They walked inside the lobby of the motel. They got their keys and head to the elevator. Shadow and Silver followed them after Rouge called them over. They are all on the 12th floor. Once they walked out of the elevator, Tails looked out the window to see the view of the town and there is a manor on top of the hill. But, he spotted something. There's somebody watching from the window of the manor. Tails squinted his eyes, trying to figure out who's at the window, but the figure disappeared.

"Tails?" Sally's voice called. Tails turned to see the chipmunk there. "C'mon. Our rooms." She told him. Tails turned back to the window, but he walked away from it to follow Sally. Who was inside that old manor?  
Sonic slides the key on the door and it unlocks for him. He walked inside and smiled at the sight. The room is perfect for him and the guys. Five beds for five male mobians, a flat screen tv, a clean bathroom, and a balcony. Sonic crashes on one of the beds, sighing.

"Ahh! I could take a nice long nap!" He said, placing his hands behind his head, closing his eyes.

"Least we don't have to share a bed or two." Knuckles said, picking his bed. Silver places his suitcase on the bed he picked. And Shadow stood by the window to see the view of the town.

"Well, you boys relax. We are going next door." Amy said, leaving the room with the girls.

"So, since tomorrow's Halloween, where's this party take place?" Silver asked.

"I think at the plaza somewhere." Knuckles replied, shrugging. Sonic sat up to see Tails grabbing his laptop, setting up the Wi-Fi. He looks like he is in the zone of something. Sonic came over to him.

"You okay, pal?" He asked.

"I'm fine." Tails replied. "I want to look up at the manor."

"Oh yeah."

"What manor?" Knuckles asked, sitting up on his bed.

"I didn't know there's a manor in this town." Silver said, turning to the fox. "Is it haunted?" Tails typed on the keyboard, and turned his laptop around to show his friends the old photo of the manor.

"Wow. Looks fancy back then." Knuckles said.

"It's a very old manor." Tails said. "Built by Henry Ravenswood."

"What do you know about that manor?" Shadow asked, crossing his arms. "I'm sure it has a story."

"Oh, it does." Tails said. "But, I don't know if you guys want to hear about it." Sonic chuckled at him.

"Aw, c'mon buddy! It's Halloween time! We'd like to hear the story about that haunted manor!" He said.

"Yeah. I'm interested in it now. Come on, tell us." Silver said. Shadow and Knuckles didn't say anything, but they do want to know the history of the manor. Tails smiled at them.

"Okay. I'll tell you the story." He said. "Be comfortable, it's going to be a long one and...a scary one."


	2. Chapter 2

***Chapter 2: Story of Phantom Manor***

* * *

Tails began to tell the story of the Ravenswood family. He started from the beginning to the end. Amy, Rouge, and Sally arrived in the room after Silver called them in to hear this story.

"Henry Ravenswood was a Western settler who struck gold in Big Thunder Mountain and founded the Thunder Mesa Mining Company, thus creating the city of Thunder Mesa. Ravenswood became rich and built himself a Victorian manor high on Boot Hill overlooking Big Thunder Mountain, where he raised a family and had a daughter, Melanie Ravenswood." Tails said. "Big Thunder Mountain was rumored by natives to be home to the Thunder Bird, a powerful spirit possessing a treasure. According to the legend, its wrath could be materialized into a terrible earthquake. However, Ravenswood would not believe such stories. Time went by, and the gold in Big Thunder Mountain became scarce, making miners dig deeper into the mountain."

"This is why people shouldn't mess with treasure." Knuckles said, narrowing his eyes at Rouge playfully. The bat scoffed at him. Tails continued.

"Melanie grew from a young girl into a beautiful young woman, and became engaged to a train engineer who planned to take her far away from Thunder Mesa, much to the dismay of Henry. Henry did everything he could to stop the wedding, but his useless attempts were put to a stop when a terrible earthquake killed him and his wife Martha. It seemed the Thunder Bird had been awakened, and the family was never heard of again. After several years, the story of what really happened came out from underneath the rubble: On Melanie's wedding day, a mysterious Phantom unknown to anyone appeared in the house. While Melanie was preparing in her room, the Phantom lured her groom up to the attic where he hanged him by the neck from the rafters."

"Yikes." Amy whispered. "Where did the Phantom come from?"

"Sounds like Phantom of the Opera to me." Sally guessed. Tails continued the story.

"In the ballroom, the bride sat alone. Hours went by with no sign of the groom. Guests slowly filed away, leaving Melanie alone in the house with the staff of maids and butlers. "Some day", she told herself, "he will come". And so, having never taken off her wedding dress or dropped her flower bouquet in preparation for her loved one's return, she wandered the house aimlessly, singing melancholy songs of lost love." Then, Tails began to sing of how the bride would sing. Shadow rolled his eyes a little, keeping his arms crossed. Tails stopped and continued the tale. "But the Phantom was still in the house, laughing at her human devotion to her intended husband. One after one, he invited his dead, demonic friends from the afterlife to fill the house in an eternal party. A dark curse fell upon the house, and the shape of the house was slowly transformed by the evil forces. No one ever set foot in the house ever since."

"No one's ever went inside to investigate?" Amy asked. "Ever?"

"Nope." Tails replied. "After people hears this story, they are afraid to go inside the manor. Believing the Phantom is inside, waiting to haunt."

"He could be there." Sonic said with a smirk. "After years of waiting inside that manor, the Phantom wants the mortal to come inside the manor. And the bride's singing voice can be heard."

"Yeah. Anyway..." Tails said. "Inside and outside, the house was decaying with age. Dusty cobwebs covered every inch, the disheartened staff not caring, for it was rumored that Melanie had lost her mind. She wandered the house for years and years, singing softly to her groom, while all around her demons and ghosts reveled and danced. Everywhere she went she was reminded of the wedding. The Phantom's eternal laughter still carried through the walls of the house. Outside, the once beautiful grounds were falling apart and crumbling. The gilded staircase and structure were dotted with mold and trees and every plant on the grounds died. As if sensing the evil inherent in the house, nothing living ever trod there. Even so, Melanie kept her hopes, waiting for her love's return, and never figured why he didn't show up at the wedding."

"Poor Melanie." Rouge said, shaking her head in pity. Amy and Sally did the same. They feel sorry for the bride.

"Today, no one knows if Melanie Ravenswood is still alive in that old house on the hill. If she is, then she is well over 100 years old. Her beautiful voice still carries over the town at night though, through the walls of the house and night air. And sometimes, people still see lights in the house. Some nights, when the moon is full and the sky is clear of clouds, you can still hear the lonely mourning of the bride, the maniacal laughter of the Phantom, and the faint tinkle of glass and the laughter of party guests. Whether she is alive or not, what is well known is that poor Melanie never really left the crumbling mansion. She waits for her groom until Judgement Day." Tails said, finishing the story.

"So, the manor is now called...Phantom Manor?" Silver asked. Tails nodded.

"Hmph. I thought the story would be more interesting." Shadow said, sitting on the chair. "A random spirit shows up and kills the groom."

"But it's true!" Tails said. "That evil spirit, the Phantom, appeared in that manor and killed the groom and Melanie is all alone on her wedding day."

"What if it's...her late father?" Amy wondered. Everyone turned to her. "What? It could be him. Henry Ravenswood doesn't want his daughter to marry, and neither does the Phantom guy. So, the Phantom must be Henry!" Tails looked up on his laptop to see more research, but nothing popped up about that theory. Amy sighed a bit. "Well, it's just a guess. We'll never know." She said.

"There is one way to find out." Sonic said, facing the window. "Since no one ever stepped inside the manor, why not we go inside?" No one said a word. But Tails spoke up.

"Are you nuts?! We can't go in there!"

"It might be locked anyway." Silver spoke.

"It'll be full of dust and cobwebs." Rouge said. "And I don't want to ruin my looks."

"These ghosts won't be happy to see us." Amy said. Sonic laughed a little.

"I didn't say right now or today. I say tomorrow. On Halloween night!" He said, grinning. "After we all dress up, we are going to that manor! We could look for the Phantom and the bride." Knuckles stood from the bed.

"What the hell? I'm in." He said. "I've encountered ghosts before while looking for pieces of the Master Emerald, so these ghosts won't scare me one bit." Sonic turned to the others.

"What do you say?" He asked. "Who wants to do some ghost hunting?" Silver made a shrug.

"I guess I could take a peek inside." He said.

"Don't see why not I suppose." Sally said, forming a smile. "It's Halloween after all."

"Okay. I'm going too." Amy said.

"Hmph. After hearing the tale of the manor, I'd rather see the story with my own eyes." Shadow spoke. "Count me in." Tails sighed a little. He's nervous.

"Man, you guys are crazy." He said. "I'll come too. But, we have to stay together." Sonic grinned at everyone.

"Alright. Tomorrow night, it will be a scream."


	3. Chapter 3

***Chapter 3: Halloween Time!***

* * *

Sonic is putting on the makeup on his face. He uses the black pencil to make the stitches over his lips and cheeks. He then puts the eye patch that is a Jack Skellington head over his left eye. Sonic smiled at his look. He is dressed as Jack Skellington from the Nightmare Before Christmas.

"Never look this good." Sonic said, fixing the bowtie. Tails and Knuckles came in the room with their costumes on. Tails is dressed as Link from Legend of Zelda. Knuckles dresses as Frankenstein. "Wow. You guys look good in those costumes." Sonic said, turning to them. "Tails, I thought you were gonna as a mummy for Halloween?"

"Yeah, but I thought I could go as Link for this year? Why not huh?" Tails said. On his back, there is a shield and the sword. "Hey, nice Jack costume! Is Sally gonna be that ragdoll from that movie?"

"Yep. There's a costume contest in town so we planned to be Jack and Sally for Halloween." Sonic said with a grin. "Are the girls ready next door?"

"Amy told me that Rouge and Sally are almost done with the makeup." Knuckles replied. "Where's Shadow and Silver?" The bathroom door opens and Silver is coming out in his werewolf costume. The brown ears are over his, he has brown long gloves on and leg warmers over his shoes. A brown top with ripped white shirt. He has his fangs on.

"Whoa, Silver!" Tails gasped.

"How do I look?" Silver asked in a disappointed voice. "I don't look like a werewolf at all."

"You look great. I hardly recognize you." Sonic said with a smile, giving the white hedgehog a thumbs up. Silver sighed and sat on the bed. "I'm serious, bud. You look great as a werewolf. Better than being Superman." Silver glared at him, but turned away.

"Where's Shadow?" Tails asked, looking around. "Is he dressing up?"

"I don't know where he-" Sonic was cut off when the door opens. There is Shadow dressed as Dracula. Fake blood around his mouth and fangs handing out of it.

"Oh, there you are." Tails said. "Nice vampire costume, Shadow."

"Thanks. It's the only option I chose." The black hedgehog said, coming in the room. Then, Amy comes in. She is dressed as Little Red Riding Hood. She is holding the little basket while putting on the hood.

"Hey Silver, you got Amy as Little Red over there. Don't try to eat her." Knuckles said with a chuckle. Silver rolled his eyes at him.

"How do I look, Sonic?" Amy asked, coming over to the blue hedgehog. "Not too much, is it?" Sonic looks at her costume. White tall socks with red shoes. The dress is white with a red checkered skirt. And she is wearing a black choker.

"You look cute, Ames." Sonic told her. "Where's Rouge and Sal?"

"They're coming in." Amy said. Rouge and Sally walked inside the room in their costumes. The chipmunk is dressed as Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas. Stitches on her face, and wearing a patchy dress. Her long red hair is down. Rouge is dressed as a sexy witch. The dress is purple and black, and wore black boots and long black gloves.

"Man, Sally. You look exactly like Sally from the movie." Sonic said after he whistled. The chipmunk laughed and came over to her.

"Not too much makeup, right?" She asked.

"You look great. We're going to win the contest for sure." Sonic told her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Rouge came over to the red echidna.

"You don't look bad yourself, Knuckie." She said. "I should've been your bride."

"Eh, you look...better as a witch." Knuckles said, blushing a little at Rouge's costume. Shadow rolled his eyes at them in silent.

"So, are we all ready to hit down the Halloween party in town?" Tails asked.

"Yep. Then after, we will visit the manor." Sonic said with a smirk on his face. "We can find that Phantom and the bride inside."

"Are you sure it's still a good idea to go?" Amy asked. "Remember no one's set a foot inside after a tragedy."

"We gotta see that manor, Amy." Sonic told the pink hedgehog who seemed to have second thoughts of going. "C'mon. It'll be great. If we don't see any ghosts inside, we'll just leave. We'll be fine."

"If you say so..." Amy said.

"Well, let's head down town." Rouge said. "When the sun is down, we will go ghost hunting."

"Or we will die inside." Silver said, following his friends.

"We are not gonna die." Sally told him, patting his back. "There's no such thing as ghosts."

"Hey! I've run into ghosts before at Pumpkin Hill years ago!" Knuckles said, coming to Sally's face. "I've seen them with my own eyes. You know how hard it was not to be scared to death while looking for the pieces of the Master Emerald." He hears Rouge laughing behind him. The heroes left the room and head down to the elevator to leave the motel.

* * *

Children and adults are wandering around the town in costumes having a good time in a early evening. Playing games to win prizes, trick-or-treating, and scare each other silly. While the mobians are doing their own thing, Silver is sitting on the hay by the pumpkins. Suddenly, a hand touched one of his spikes, making him jump and have his hand out to use his psychic powers, but realizes it's Blaze! She is dressed as the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.

"Blaze?!" Silver gasped, having his hand down. "Oh jeez, you scared me. How did you get here?" Blaze came over to him.

"Let's say a little birdie told me that you and the others are visiting that manor up on that hill." She said, looking up at the manor. "So, I have Marine in charge to watch my Soul Emeralds and teleported here. And I also feel bad that I didn't go with you before." Silver smiled at her. He's happy she is here with him.

"Glad you came, Blaze. Nice Cheshire Cat costume." He said. "Wait, who told you about going to the Phantom Manor?"

"Sally." Blaze replied with a shrug. "You know, I heard about the Ravenswood Manor too. So, I thought I come here to spend Halloween with you guys, and join the ghost hunt." Silver looks back up at the hill where the manor stood. He doesn't know what will happen up there when it gets dark tonight. Even it's Halloween, things will get too spooky. "So, what do you want to do before the sun sets?" Blaze asked.

"If you want, we could get something to eat. Sonic and Sally are entering a costume contest that will start in an hour." Silver said. Blaze nodded. The two friends walked over to the food stand to get dinner. Little did they know, up on the manor, a dark figure watches from the window. It eyes on the mobians below with the mortals. The figure disappears in the shadows...

...

After having a good Halloween party, the sun is coming down. Sonic and Sally did win the costume contest. They have orange ribbons on their costumes that said "Best Costume". Music is filling the air, and everyone is having a good time. There are still activities to do at the party, but Sonic knows it's time to visit the manor. The sky is growing dark. He smiled and gathering his friends over by fence to see the view of Thunder Mountain.

"It's time." Sonic told them. "Who's ready to get up there?"

"Uh, maybe it's not a good idea." Silver said. "How could we get inside? The place could be locked."

"You could use your psychic powers to pick the locks." Knuckles said.

"I don't do that." Silver said. "My powers don't pick locks."

"You backing out?" Shadow asked, raising a brow at him. "You afraid?"

"No!"

"We're all going to be together, guys!" Amy said. "If we don't see anything interesting, we'll leave."

"Yeah." Tails said with a nod. "We won't be inside too long."

"Silver, if you want, you can stay out here." Rouge told the white hedgehog. "Blaze will stay."

"No way." Silver said. "Blaze came here to see the place. So, I am going with her. I ain't scared."

"Let's go, guys! The manor's waiting." Sonic said, rushing up the hill. Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, Silver, Blaze, Sally, and Rouge followed the blue hedgehog up the hill. Sonic stopped in front of the iron gate that is chained shut. He pulled one gate open, just a crack to fit him and the others through the opening. As he went through, Tails looked at the plague on a stone pillar that was on the side of the gate. Another pillar, identical to this one, was on the other.

" _Ravenswood Manor_." Tails read. " _Built 1849_."

"Wow. Guys, come on! You gotta see this house up close." Sonic called, looking up at the wooden house. The rest of the heroes went through the opening of the gate and followed Sonic up to the house. Then, soft music began to play. It sounded like it came from the house. "Do you hear that?" Sonic asked while walking on the wooden porch. "I hear some kind of music box."

"Me too." Blaze said, trying to look through the windows. Rouge sees cobwebs on every corner, and dust. She avoided them from getting on her costume.

"Are the doors locked?" Amy asked. Sonic went up to the large doors and knock them. They all waited. There is nothing. All they hear is the music box from inside. Sonic tried pushing and pulling the doors, but no luck. The place is locked tight.

"Let's see if the windows are unlocked and we can-" Knuckles was cut off when the large doors began to open. They making loud creaking sounds. The heroes stared in silent. Once the doors are open, the music box stopped playing. Sonic took a peek inside. It's too dark.

"You see anything?" Sally asked.

"No." Sonic replied. "Let me head inside first. I'll find a light." He walked inside the manor and disappeared in the shadows. Sally and the others waited for him to respond if he found a candle light or anything to help them see inside the manor. Then, they hear a thud.

"Sonic?" Amy called. Suddenly, the large doors slammed shut in the heroes' faces.

"Sonic?!" Sally cried out, knocking on the doors. "Sonic, what happened?"

"Are you okay?" Knuckles called.

"Guys! Help me! The Phantom's got me!" Sonic cried out from the inside. "Help me!"


	4. Chapter 4

***Chapter 4: Phantom Manor***

* * *

"Stand back!" Shadow told the others who began to panic. He began to kick the door open. Everyone rushed inside the manor and see Sonic on the floor. Sally gasped and ran over to his side, as did Amy.

"Sonic? Sonic, speak to us!" Sally said, shaking the blue hedgehog's body. Amy brought Sonic's wrist up to feel his pulse. Then, Sonic let out a yell, making the girls jump back in shock.

"There is no Sonic anymore! Just the Phantom!" He spoke in a zombie voice. Silver and Shadow groaned as the rest just sighed in relief. Sally slapped the back of Sonic's head with a look on her face. "Ow!" Sonic laughed, rubbing his head.

"That's not funny." Amy said.

"You scared the hell out of us!" Blaze said, glaring at him.

"Man, I got you guys good, didn't I?" Sonic laughed, standing up, brushing down his costume. "Blaze, I found some candles. Can you-" The doors slam shut behind Shadow and Knuckles who turn in surprise. "Ha ha. Very funny." Sonic said to them, crossing his arms.

"That wasn't me." Shadow said, trying to open the doors, but couldn't.

"Or me. I didn't move." Knuckles said. Then, the candles started to lit up in the foyer.

"Uh, thanks Blaze." Sonic said, looking around.

"I didn't do that, Sonic." The purple cat said. While Knuckles and Shadow tried to open the doors, the others are looking around the foyer. Seems like there isn't anywhere to go. There's only candles, and a few plants that are dead, and a gilded mirror on the wall.

"The doors are stuck." Shadow said with a grunt. "We're trapped."

"Great." Silver grunted. Amy looked up at the mirror and see that her reflection changed. There is a woman with brunette hair, and she looked like she was wearing a veil. She had a sad expression on her face. Then she disappeared, showing Amy's reflection. The pink hedgehog took a step back, fearing of what she just saw. Could it be the bride?

"There has to be a way out of this room!" Tails said, touching the wall, trying to find some sort of passageway. But as soon as he did, the wall started to feel wet. Tails backed away, and watched in shock as red liquid started to drip from out of nowhere on the wall. "Uh, guys..." Tails said, getting everyone's attention. Sonic and the others turned to see the red liquid started to spell out a message.

 _Welcome, curious friends..._

"What...the...hell?" Knuckles gasped at the message.

"Please tell me that's not blood coming from the walls." Amy said.

"I hope not." Blaze said.

"This is getting too creepy for me." Silver said. "Let's just work on the doors and leave this place." Then, there was a creaking noise. A wall near the message suddenly opened, revealing a small octagonal room with many flickering candles and four portraits. They were all of the same person. A young girl that Amy saw from the mirror.

"Let's get in." Sonic said, walking inside the little room. The others followed him in silent see the portraits. One of the woman picking roses, one of her riding in the boar with a parasol, one of her wading in a pond, and the other of her having a picnic with a man playing a guitar. As the mobians are inside, the wall slid shut.

"Oh god, we are trapped for sure." Silver said. Then, the room started to stretch. The portraits started to stretch as well. Revealing that they weren't as they appeared. The one with a woman picking roses revealed a skeleton coming out of the grave to attack her, the one of her in the boat revealed that she was headed right for a steep waterfall, the one of her in the pond revealed a water monster reaching for her ankles, and the picnic scene shows millions of ants and other creepy creatures were coming to ruin their picnic.

"Oh boy..." Sally breathed. "Things aren't going so great for that girl." Suddenly, the candles went out. The mobians then heard a scream above them. They all look up to see a corpse in a tattered tuxedo, being hung by a shadowy man. The mysterious man cackled and vanished by the flash of lightning. The candles are lit up again in the room. Tails gripped on Sonic's arm in fright.

"It's the Phantom!" Amy gasped.

"So he's real." Knuckles said.

"He's the one who killed the groom." Sally said.

"I'm scared!" Tails said, keeping his eyes closed. The wall slid open, and the heroes could see it leads to another part of the house.

"Let's go." Blaze said, leaving the room. "The Phantom is somewhere in this manor."

"I don't want to do this anymore." Tails said. Sonic wrapped his arm around his best friend.

"It's okay, Tails. I got ya. Stay with me." He said. "Worst part is over." They all walked down the hallway to see many portraits. But, Sonic found a full body portrait at the end of the hallway of a woman. She was in a wedding dress. Tails stares at the portrait in silent before turning to see a grand staircase where the others are waiting. Shadow has his arms crossed in wonder. Knuckles and Rouge are standing next to each other looking up at the staircase. Sally, Amy, Silver, and Blaze found a candelabra for them to have since they didn't bring flashlights with them. Blaze hands Sonic a candelabra.

"Let's stick together." Blaze suggests. "This Phantom is a menacing one. I can sense his darkness."

"Wait a minute." Sonic said. "This manor is huge. I say we split in three groups."

"Are you kidding?" Rouge asks with a look in her eyes. "What if we get killed?"

"We won't." Sonic told her.

"We'll get lost in this place." Knuckles said. "We have to stay together."

"Guys, come on. It'll be easier if we split up and found out what happened here. We saw the Phantom back there, didn't we?" Sonic said.

"Did you not see what we just saw?" Sally asked, coming up to the blue hedgehog. "He hung the groom who was missing!"

"Tails, did it happen?" Amy asked. The yellow fox nodded a bit, still terrified by that scene in the elevator. "Look, Sonic. Tails is scared to death. Maybe we should leave this place and-" The pink hedgehog was cut off when a loud thunder noise is heard outside. Silver is looking up at the large window to see the storm. It's pouring rain.

"When did it rain?" Knuckles wondered. "The night is clear when we come in."

"Well, great." Rouge said, throwing up her hands. "Guess we are stuck here."

"I can Chaos Control out of here." Shadow said, taking out a green Chaos Emerald. "For those who want leave, come over here." No one said a word. Rouge and Knuckles went over to Shadow. Silver, Sally, and Amy are coming over to them as well. Tails releases Sonic's arm and followed them. But Sonic and Blaze stood at their place, watching them. Sally turned to Sonic.

"Sonic, we have to get out of here. This place is haunted. We should've never come here." She said. "Come on. Let's go back to the motel and forget about this place."

"But, what about the ghost hunting? We saw the Phantom. And we should find the bride. She can be anywhere." Sonic said. "It's Halloween and we're just getting started here. And Shadow, you think the story Tails told us sounds made up and you want to see what happened here in person, right?"

"That was before we knew the Phantom is still roaming around." Shadow said. "He could kill us all if we stay here."

"He's a ghost! Ghosts can't kill us! They haunt us!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Sonic. This trip is over. We're going home." Sally said. She turned to Blaze. "Blaze, you coming?" The purple cat shook her head, standing her ground.

"I'm staying here with Sonic. We are solving this mystery." She said. "There is more about this manor. So, go ahead and leave. We'll be okay." Shadow raises the emerald.

"Chaos Control!" He yelled. But, the emerald didn't glow. "Chaos Control!" Shadow said again. The Chaos Emerald didn't glow. Nothing happened. "Chaos Control!" Shadow yelled, gripping the emerald. He stares down at the emerald. "Why won't it work?!"

"Uh, guys..." Tails said pointing up at the staircase. There is a Phantom, cackling at them. They couldn't see his face. It's covered by the shadows.

 _"You shall never leave!"_ He spoke. His voice echo through the halls, and thunder is heard outside. He disappeared with a flash of lightning. His cackle continues. Silver gulped.

"We're trapped." Shadow said. "He uses some spell where I can't teleport us out of here."

"How is that possible?!" Knuckles cried out. "Now we're stuck here for good!"

"Guys! Calm down!" Sonic said. Everyone turned to him. "We're getting out here soon! Let me think of something, okay?" He walks away from them, passing the stairway, but he spotted something down the endless hallway. He hears singing. There is a woman in a wedding dress, holding a candelabra. Her face is covered by a veil. She seemed to appear and disappear, frozen in time, searching for something...or someone. "Hello?" Sonic called. But the bride didn't turn to him. Maybe she didn't hear him since she is singing with her lovely voice.

"Sonic?" Amy called. She came up to him. She saw the bride and gasped. "The...bride." She said. Tails and Sally came over with the others who followed.

"Can she hear us?" Rouge asked.

"I don't think so." Sonic said. He tried calling to the bride. "Miss? You need help?" He asked. Again, the bride didn't hear him or notice the confused heroes. Shadow turned around to see a piano playing by itself. It's playing a doleful funeral march. The mobians left the spot where the bride is to think things over. Pretty much the bride couldn't see or hear them somehow.

"Since we can't get out of here, I guess we should split up for finding a way out our selves." Knuckles said. "Sonic, we can split in three groups." Sonic nodded at him. Sonic chose Tails, Sally, and Amy to go with him. Silver and Blaze are on their own. Shadow, Knuckles, and Rouge are together.

"Let's be careful." Rouge said. "Hope we find each other soon if we find a way out of here."

"Okay." Silver said. So, the heroes split up to search different parts of the manor. Shadow turned back to see the bride in the endless hallway again, hearing her singing voice. If only she could hear them, she could tell them what has happened. The black hedgehog caught up with Knuckles and Rouge.

 _'How could that Phantom have the power to prevent me from using Chaos Control? That is impossible. Once I find him, I'll make him pay.'_ Shadow thought with a look on his face. As he, Knuckles, and Rouge walk down the hallway, the head busts watches them by turning their heads with a sneer.


	5. Chapter 5

***Chapter 5: Madame Leota***

* * *

Silver and Blaze went up the grand staircase and went to the right hallway. The purple cat turned to see the door that was halfway open. She pushed it open and see a dusty guest room. There are cobwebs in every corner of the room, and the candles are lit inside. There are dead plants in the glass vase, dry leaves and petals on the little table.

"Nothing here." Silver said, looking around.

"Let's keep looking." Blaze said, leaving the room. Silver followed close behind her and see the door ahead of them. Could be a master bedroom. Silver pushed the door open, and he was right. A master bedroom. There is a portrait above the fireplace. A man and a woman. Blaze studied the old portrait.

"That man is Henry Ravenswood. And his wife." She said. Silver turned to the window. There is a garden below the manor. But, Silver sees a reflection of a figure behind him on the window. He turned around and saw nothing by the doorway. Someone was there. Was it the Phantom? Or the bride? He doesn't know for sure.

"Blaze, let's go." Silver said. Before Blaze could say something, they hear singing outside the room. A bride. They peek out to see the bride walking down the staircase, singing softly to herself. "It's Melanie." Silver whispered.

"I feel so sorry for her. She is prepared for the wedding, but no groom." Blaze said. Silver is thinking back of the stretching room where the groom was hung by the Phantom. It gives him goosebumps.

"Do you think she knows what happened to her groom?" Silver asked.

"Who knows?" Blaze said with a shrug. "C'mon, let's follow her. We could help her." As she is walking down the hall, Silver stopped her by flying in front of her with his psychic powers.

"How?" He asked. "She see us or hear us down the hallway before, remember?"

"We have to try again." Blaze said, walking past him. Silver sighed and followed her down the staircase. They watched Melanie vanish at the bottom of the stairs and her singing voice is gone. "She could be anywhere. I'm sure everyone else will try to find her."

* * *

In a different hall of the manor, Sonic and his group kept hearing strange frightening sounds around them. The doors seemed to be moving in and out, as if they are breathing. Screams and sounds can be heard from other doors, even something big can be heard from the last door, clawing on the door. Along the area was strange wallpaper, which showed the faces of demons over and over. Amy could've sworn she was the eyes on the wallpaper are watching her and the others as they walk by. There is a grandfather clocks that chimes on thirteen with spinning hands that never stop.

"This is creepy." Sally commented.

"Listen." Tails said in a whisper. He pressed his ear on the door. He can hear chanting from the inside. He opened the door and see a room. There is a chair, a table with a glowing green crystal ball. "Hello?" Tails called.

 _"Spirits and phantoms on your ghostly flight, escort the beautiful bride into the night..."_ A mysterious, female voice chanted in the room. _"Warlocks and witches, answer this call, your presence is wanted at this ghostly ball..."_ Sonic walked by the chair, but there was no one there.

"Uh, hello?" He called, looking around nervously. Amy, Sally, and Tails are close behind him. The chant continued. Sonic walked around the table and couldn't believe his eyes.

 _"From midnight to the first light of the day, we will waltz together with a ghastly array..."_ It came from the crystal ball. Sonic sees a woman's face inside it. Her skin is white as a ghost, and gray hair, but it looked green because of the glow from the ball. Her lips are red like blood. _"Join now the spirits in nuptial doom, a ravishing bride, a vanishing groom..."_ She finished one last incantation.

"Uh, excuse me?" Sonic said, waving his hand. The woman in the crystal ball opened her eyes to see a blue hedgehog and the others who stare at her in astonish. "Hi. I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. Who're you?"

"I am Madame Leota. See-er of all. Voice of the spirits." The woman in the ball said. "And I know who you are, mortals. You have come in this house for answers."

"Uh, well we-" Amy was about to say, but Sonic spoke up.

"We can't leave this manor because the Phantom wouldn't let us. Even Shadow can't use Chaos Control." He said. "What is the Phantom's deal?" Madame Leota raised a brow at him.

"Seems to me that you met the menacing Phantom, hero. You are the first mortals who ever come in this house. When a moral comes in, there is no way out." She said. "But, there is only one way out. But it costs your lives."

"Tell us!" Sally begged. "What do we have to do?"

"The Phantom keeps the bride here for many years since the groom have passed, and he brought demons and spirits in this place to celebrate. Outside this door, there is a ballroom. You will see the spirits." Leota said. The door opened for the heroes from where they come in.

"So, we have to save the bride or something?" Tails asked. "But, she can see or hear us."

"But it's the Phantom we are after." Amy corrected him.

"Let's go. Oh, thanks Leota." Sonic said with a grin. Before they could leave, Amy came to the crystal ball again.

"One more question. Is the Phantom happen to be the bride's father? Because he doesn't want her to marry that groom she is in love with?" She asked.

"The answer is yes and no. It is best if you find out who the Phantom is yourself." Leota replied. "Be careful mortals, the Phantom is unlike others." Amy nodded and followed her group. The woman's face disappeared in the ball and repeat the chant.

* * *

The bedroom door opened, and coming inside is Rouge, Knuckles, and Shadow. They found Melanie's room. It looks like no one's been in this room for years. All dusty, and cobwebs all over. Rouge walked over to the closet that is filled with clothes of Melanie's. Shadow found the portrait of Melanie, who is smiling. Knuckles just stood by the door with his arms crossed, not wanting to bother.

"This must be the bride's room." Rouge said. "Melanie Ravenswood."

"Why would the Phantom kill her groom and keep her trapped here for years?" Knuckles asked. "Does he have like a thing for her or something?"

"There has to be a reason." Shadow said. "Once I find him, I'll make him break the curse on my powers and make us stay here." Rouge rolled her eyes at the black hedgehog. Knuckles turned around and he sees a bride walking down the hallway, singing.

"Guys." He said. Rouge and Shadow came over after hearing the singing voice of the bride. They watched her vanish. "You see that?"

"Let's follow her!" Rouge said, running down the hallway.

"Wait!" Shadow called, running after his partner. Knuckles groaned and followed the two. The three stopped at the end of the hallway to watch the bride walk through the walls, singing softly. "What does she want?" Shadow asked.

"We have to follow her. I think she's trying to show us something." Rouge said.

"How do you know that?" Knuckles asked. Rouge turned to him.

"Maybe she can lead us to the Phantom. You think Sonic and the rest saw her and maybe went somewhere in this manor to find answers about the Phantom?" She asked. Shadow crossed his arms, thinking it over. Knuckles hummed in thought. "The bride needs our help. We can get out of here once we find the Phantom." Rouge told them. Shadow and Knuckles looked at each other, then at Rouge. They nodded at her.

"Yeah." Knuckles said. "If the others see the bride roaming around this house, they will follow her and we will be back together."

"Well let's not waste time." Shadow said, walking away. "I saw Sonic and his group went down this way." He went down to the left hall. "Silver and Blaze will catch up." Rouge and Knuckles followed the black hedgehog. Little did they know, there is a ghost holding a hatbox. He let out an evil chuckle as he watches the mobians walk down the hall.


	6. Chapter 6

***Chapter 6: Ghostly Ball***

* * *

Sonic and his group are above the stairway to see ghosts on the dance floor of the ballroom. There is a table filled with plates, silverware, and a rotten wedding cake. There are cobwebs and dust all over the place. The ghosts are dancing around the floor while the other ghosts are by the table with wine glasses. A raven crow is sitting by the organ where the ghost is playing. Above them, there is Melanie on the stairs, watching her guests having a good time, but waiting for the groom. The tears fell from the bride's eyes.

"Poor Melanie's all ready for her wedding. But no groom." Sally said.

"Look!" Tails cried out, pointing the window that is above Melanie. Appearing is a Phantom, laughing at the bride as lightening strikes outside. The other ghosts didn't seem to notice the Phantom, but Melanie noticed him. She turned away from him, talking to herself.

"He will come for me..." She whispered.

"That does it!" Amy snapped, taking out her hammer and rush down to the ballroom, going through the dancing ghosts.

"Amy no!" Sonic cried out, chasing her. Amy was about to yell at the Phantom, but the menacing ghost disappeared and materialize in front of her. The pink hedgehog tried to be brave, but it failed when the Phantom grabbed her by the throat. Sonic snarled and roll into a ball and hit the Phantom in the skull. The ghost recoiled, but his guard wasn't down. He glared at the hedgehogs. Sonic helped Amy up who coughed.

"Guys, watch out!" Tails screamed. Sonic looked up to see the Phantom uses his cane to strike him. Sonic cried in agony and hit a wall. Blood trickled from the cut on his cheek.

"Sonic!" Amy cried. The Phantom chuckled evilly, coming closer to Sonic who is on the floor. She picked up her hammer and threw it at the head of the ghost. The Phantom yelled and disappeared. Sally and Tails rush over to the blue hedgehog and bring him over to the fireplace. "Sonic! Sonic, are you okay? Say something!" Amy said, touching Sonic's face. The blue hedgehog groaned a bit and opened his eyes to see his friends.

"Uhhh...what happened?" He asked, touching his bleeding cheek. "Where's the Phantom?"

"He's gone for now. I got rid of him." Amy replied. Tails looked around and notice that Melanie is no longer in the ballroom. She was standing on the stairs, mourning. She could be somewhere else.

"Leota was right about the Phantom. He is not like any other ghost." Sonic said, getting up. "We gotta find him."

"But, we have to find the bride. She's gone." Tails said, pointing at the spot where the bride was.

"You're right! She is gone. Where did she go?" Amy asked.

"Hey you guys!" Knuckles' voice called from the top of the stairs. Knuckles, Rouge, and Shadow rush down to see Sonic's face. "Oh my god, what happened to you?"

"The Phantom." Sonic replied. "What'd you guys find?" Before Knuckles could answer, they turn to see Silver and Blaze appearing from the doorway under the staircase.

"Whoa! You guys are here too." Silver spoke. "You see the bride leading you all here?"

"Wait, what?" Sally asked.

"Guys, focus!" Sonic said. "Look, the bride was here a few minutes ago, then the Phantom was tormenting her and all that. Amy tried to attack him, but the Phantom grabbed her and I attacked him. Somehow my homing attacks are effective towards him."

"So he attacked you for payback, huh?" Blaze asked, noticing the cut on Sonic's cheek.

"What now? This room is filled with ghosts!" Silver said, looking around the grand hall. "Where is the bride?"

"We have to find her." Tails told everyone. "She must be around here. C'mon." So the mobians quickly left the ballroom to find a bride.

* * *

After minutes of searching, Sonic hears music from behind the door. He opened it, and he also hears a voice. Melanie's singing voice he and the others heard before. So beautiful, but so sad. Sonic and his friends went up the stairs to follow the music and there is Melanie facing the strange looking mirror. Cracks are shown. No reflection of her shows. It's white, but with dark circles. The mirror is shaped as a skull.

"There she is." Amy whispered.

"We have to try to communicate with her." Shadow said.

"How?" Knuckles asked. "She couldn't hear or see us before."

"Let me try." Sonic said. He walked towards Melanie. He sees that she is wiping her tears with a tissue. Sonic took a deep breath, reaching for her shoulder, then the bride turned around. She doesn't look young anymore. She aged. Tears continue to fall from her eyes. "Melanie?" Sonic asked. "You can see me?"

"I've waited too long..." Melanie whispered, wiping her tears away. "My beloved groom hasn't shown. I've waited for him to come here to marry me so I can be free from this prison." As she spoke to the blue hedgehog, her skin slowly disappears, showing her skull. Her hands turn into skeleton hands. Sonic gaped in horror, backing away slowly, watching the bride stood up from her chair. "But it's not too late. You can free me." She whispered. She places her bony hands to cup Sonic's face. "Please help me..." She leaned over to Sonic's face. The blue hedgehog couldn't move. He couldn't even speak.

"Noo!" Amy screamed, pulling Sonic away from the bride. "You can't take him! He can't risk his life to save you! We're here to stop the Phantom! He's the one who did this to you!" Melanie stared at the pink hedgehog. Her skin forms back. She frowned a bit, feeling so ashamed.

"I'm...so sorry. There's nothing you could do." She said. "But, I do want to be free. I want my groom..." Tails came up to Melanie.

"You really don't know what happened to your groom?" He asked. "The Phantom...he-" He was cut off when something materialize in the room. A Hatbox Ghost. He started to laugh. Melanie gasped at the sight of him.

"What is that?" Sally asked, coming over to the others. The Hatbox ghost lifts the hatbox. Inside, it was glowing. Spirals were seen in the glowing sphere.

"You must go!" Melanie cried out.

"What is he gonna do?!" Knuckles asked in panic. Suddenly, Sonic was levitated from the floor. Then, he was thrown out the window, he screamed.

"Sonic!" Everyone screamed, coming towards the broken window. The Hatbox ghost laughed at the heroes. Shadow uses Chaos Spear on him, but no effect.

"We have to get out of here!" Shadow said.

"What about Sonic?" Sally asked.

"And Melanie?" Tails asked. "She needs to know the truth about her groom!" The bride looked at him in concern.

"We'll figure something out! C'mon!" Silver cried out, leaving the room with Blaze. The rest followed them. The laughter of the Phantom is heard. Melanie cupped her hands together, continue to cry. The Hatbox ghost disappeared to leave her. Tails remained behind. He looked up at Melanie.

"Melanie, your groom was murdered by the Phantom!" Tails exclaimed. "We saw what happened. In the stretching room, we saw the Phantom hangs the groom from the ceiling. We saw it with our own eyes." Melanie covered her mouth with her hands, then held her head. Tails watched her in pity. "I'm so sorry about this, but you have to know the truth. The Phantom murdered the groom, and he put a curse in this place!" He said.

"It...can't be true..." Melanie whispered. "It can't be..." She started to breath hard, shutting her eyes tight. "This is his fault...this is his fault!" Suddenly, Melanie let out a scream, revealing her skeletal form in her wedding gown like before. Tails fell backwards, watching in horror. He couldn't scream, he couldn't run. Blaze ran in the room after hearing a scream, and see the bride screaming. She grabbed Tails to get him out of there.


	7. Chapter 7

***Chapter 7: Old Boot Hill***

* * *

His head is throbbing. Sonic opened his eyes, holding his head, groaning a bit. He shook his head and found himself outside. He hears laughter behind him. He turned around to see the Phantom with a shovel. The blue hedgehog glared at him. Before he could get up, the Phantom grabbed him by the neck. Sonic grunted a bit, grabbing the Phantom's wrists, trying to get him to release his neck. The Phantom walked over to the pit and dropped the blue hero down to the dark hole. Sonic screamed as he fell down to the darkness.  
He rolled down the dirt and hit his head on the coffin. Sonic got up, holding his head. He looked around and realizes that he is underground. There are coffins everywhere, and skeletons here and there.

"Where the heck am I?" Sonic asked, his voice echoed around him. "Tails? Amy? Anyone?" He called. His friends are nowhere in sight. He turned to see a female skeleton opening the coffin to wake up her husband.

"Wake up, dear. We have a guest." She said softly. Sonic moved away from them. His back bumped against the busts.

"Hey, watch it, sonny!" A head bust spoke, making Sonic cry out in alarm. There are four talking head busts. The skeletons woke up around the blue hero.

"We have a guest!" A skeleton said. "Let us welcome him!"

"Hit it, busts!" Another skeleton said. The skeleton uses their bones to start the music. Sonic turned back to the head busts who hummed and they began to sing.

 ** _"When the crypt doors creak,_**  
 ** _And the tombstones quake._**  
 ** _Spooks come out for a singing wake,_**  
 ** _Happy haunts materialize,_**  
 ** _And begin to vocalize._**  
 ** _Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize._**

 ** _Now don't close your eyes,_**  
 ** _And don't try to hide._**  
 ** _Or a silly spook may sit by your side,_**  
 ** _Shrouded in a daft disguise,_**  
 ** _They pretend to terrorize._**  
 ** _Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize._**

 ** _As the moon climbs high o'er dead oak tree,_**  
 ** _Spooks arrive for the midnight spree._**  
 ** _Creepy creeps with eerie eyes,_**  
 ** _Start to shriek and harmonize,_**  
 ** _Grim grinning ghosts come out socialize._**

 ** _When you hear the knell of a requiem bell,_**  
 ** _Weird glows gleam where spirits dwell,_**  
 ** _Restless bones etherealize._**  
 ** _Rise as spooks of every size._**

 ** _Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize._**  
 ** _Grim grinning ghosts come out..._**  
 ** _Grim grinning ghosts come out..._**  
 ** _To socialize..."_**

The head busts finished and bowed their heads, and the skeletons bowed as well. Sonic just stood there in silent, not knowing what to say or do. But, he did clap for them. These guys look harmless since they welcome him and gave him a musical number.

"That's great." He said, smiling a little. "I'd like to stick around, but...I need to find my friends. Do you know a way out of here?"

"What? You don't want to hear another song number? We never had an audience down here often. The earthquake knocked all of us down here." One of the busts said.

"Sorry, but there's a Phantom I need to stop. Things have gotten real ugly above us." Sonic said. "I bet you guys know the Phantom and the bride, right?" The skeletons and the head busts don't say anything. Sonic could tell that they do know, but don't want to speak of them. "Anyway, is there a way out of here?" Sonic asked. One skeleton pointed his bony finger at the exit. Sonic thanked him and leave the catacombs.

 _'I don't know what just happened, but I gotta stop the Phantom. I hope the others are okay.'_ Sonic thought, walking through the catacombs.

* * *

Amy called for Sonic outside while the others are recovering after what just happened with the bride. Tails was shaking to death after what he saw. Blaze was comforting him, telling him that everything will be okay and she will be with him at all times.

"Over here!" Silver called. He kneeled down when he saw light coming from the buried pit. "Sonic must've fell down here. There's light."

"Let's go! We have to get Sonic back and defeat that Phantom!" Amy said coming over to the pit. She began to dig frantically. But, the heroes heard a familiar voice behind them.

"Hey!" Everyone turned to see Sonic coming over to them. "How'd you guys get here?"

"Sonic?" Sally asked. She rushed over to him. Sonic's costume was ripped and he is dirty. "What happened to you?"

"You okay?" Knuckles asked.

"Where did the Phantom go?" Rouge asked.

"Did he hurt you again?" Amy asked. Sonic tried to answer each question, but he saw something different. The scenery around him and the others is different. They are now in front of the manor. The once abandoned ghost town was now filled with ghosts of all sorts.

"Uh, it wasn't like this before." Silver said, looking around.

"Did we travel back in time or what?" Knuckles asked.

"I don't think so..." Sonic said. There are cowboys on ghostly horses flying through the sky, a hearse crashed on a train track, and came to an old wooden ticket booth.

"What do we do now?" Blaze asked.

"Find the Phantom." Sonic replied with a look. "He's playing with us. He can't keep us here forever." He started to walk around the ghost town as the other follow him. Beside him was a old city hall, and the door bursts open, and there is a mayor. He is a ghost, holding a skeleton key of the city.

"Welcome, foolish mortals." The mayor said in a deep voice. "There's no turning back now."

"Yeah yeah." Sonic said with a look. "We're looking for someone. A Phantom."

"Your cadaverous pallor betrays an aura of foreboding." The mayor said.

"Really? Huh. Never thought you would notice." Sonic said with smirk.

"Indeed. But I am afraid that who you speak sounds like many of the townspeople in our town." The mayor said. "We have nine hundred and ninety-nine happy haunts here..." He smiled at Sonic. "But there's room for a thousand."

"Uh...no thanks." Sonic said, backing away slowly. "We'll just keep looking. Thanks anyway." Before he walks away, the mayor, instead of taking his hat off like a human would, took his whole head off and bowed farewell to the heroes. Amy covered her mouth in disgust and stick close to her friends.

 _ **XX**_

The heroes continued through Boot Hill. They hear gunshots around them and notice the cowboys are shooting at each other, but bullets went through their bodies since they are dead. Shadow and Silver turned to their right to see invisible ghosts playing poker, cards lifting up then laying on the table, cigar smoke rising from invisible ghosts.

"Creepy." Silver spoke.

"Listen..." Blaze whispered. The heroes stopped walking and listened carefully. Laughter. Evil laughter.

"C'mon!" Sonic yelled, running up the hill.

"Sonic, wait!" Sally cried out. Sonic didn't listen. He ran up the hill to see the coffin where the laughter came from. Then, the lid opened and there is a Phantom. But he had changed as well. His skeletal face was now a gruesome disfigured corpse, rotting and peeling away. Sonic halts in front of him.

"No more playing around! Time to end this!" Sonic yelled.

"You are too late, hedgehog!" The Phantom laughed. "You and your friends belong here now! There's no one here to stop me! Not even you!"

"You can't keep us here!" Tails screamed.

"Melanie has suffered enough!" Amy shouted. "Why do you keep her prisoner here? Why did you kill her groom?"

"Just who are you?!" Sally asked.

"Melanie is just a foolish girl. The man she is about to marry is a bad man! He is going to take her away from me!" The Phantom said, his eye sockets are pouring out blood.

"Take her away from you?" Shadow asked with a look. "What're you talking about?"

"Melanie Ravenswood...is my daughter..." The Phantom said, glaring at the mobians. Sonic and the others are shocked. The Phantom, is Henry Ravenswood all along. But Amy let out a shout.

"I knew it! I knew it!" She said. "How could a father like you could kill her true love?!" She got out her hammer and about to attack the Phantom, but the Phantom strikes her away. Amy rolled on the ground. Sonic glared at the Phantom. Time for a showdown.


	8. Chapter 8

***Chapter 8: A Grave Sympathy***

* * *

The Phantom uses his cane to hit the ground, and a crack opens up. The ground started to shake. Sonic and the others look down to see skeleton hands coming out of the crack. They each grab the heroes' legs. The Phantom let out his evil laughter as the heroes try to pull away from the dead's grasps. Sonic made a look and made a homing attack the Phantom to stop him. The corpse let out a yell. Shadow uses Chaos Spear to hit him. The Phantom narrowed his eyes at the heroes who began to attack him. Sonic went around him and kick him in the head to roll him off of the coffin.

"Time to end this, Phantom! You've been suffering enough souls!" Sonic yelled. But, the Phantom grabs him by the neck. Sonic started to choke a little, but something flashed in his mind and everything went black...

 **XX**

Sonic found himself in a dark room filled with mirrors hanging on the walls. His reflection is seen on every one of them. Behind him, there is a giant crystal, there is a skeleton corpse in a tattered wedding dress. Melanie. Sonic rushed towards her, but froze when he sees a bony hand move. A finger points behind him, and the corpse sings a melody. Sonic turned back to see the mirrors again and walked onward. He doesn't know what was happening right now.  
He stopped in front of the mirror and he sees something appearing in the reflection. A Phantom. Sonic made a glare at him, not turning around to face him. He lets the ghost come closer. The Phantom started to reach for his neck... But Sonic was too fast for him, of course. He grabbed the Phantom and threw him at the mirror, causing it to break. The Phantom now becomes in view to him.

"Why are you doing this?!" Sonic yelled. "Why am I here?! You want me as your thousandth ghost in your manor?!" The Phantom only chuckled evilly at him.

"If that is what you think. But having a thousand would be delightful." He said. Sonic growled at him. He then sees Melanie's skeleton form in the reflection, crying from her eye sockets.

"You have to let your daughter go, Henry." Sonic told the ghost. The Phantom turned to him with a glare. "She deserves better than this. She wants to marry someone she loves, but you took away her groom."

"That man...is no good. He tries to steal her away from me!" The Phantom said in his horrible voice.

"No he isn't! You're the one who tries to keep Melanie away from him before your death!" Sonic told him. "Listen, Henry. Melanie is a grown woman, and she wants to move on. She is sad about your death, but she can't be trapped in the manor. Now because you hung that groom, she will never forgive you. She found out from us, and she won't forgive you in any way. Keeping her won't change anything." The Phantom stared at the blue hedgehog in silent. They hear the singing voice of the bride in the dark mirror room around them. The Phantom turned to see his reflection, and memories started to repeat over his skull. His death, his form, him killing the groom, everything that he had done for years to keep Melanie's soul in the manor for eternity.

"Melanie..." The Phantom spoke in a soft tone. "Is she...not happy for what I've done?" Before Sonic could speak, the ground started to shake. The mirrors on the walls started to break to pieces. And everything turned black once more.

 **XX**

The Phantom dropped Sonic to the ground. The mobians stopped doing what they are doing to save their friend and see that the Phantom is on his knees. Sonic rubbed his neck and look at the Phantom who cries. Blood comes out of his eye sockets.

"Let her go." Sonic said. "Let the spirits go. You all will be at peace. Be happy for your daughter. All she wants is to be with her beloved groom who is waiting above." The Phantom didn't say anything. But he reached for his coat pocket and got out a glass shard and hand it over to the blue hero.

"If that's what it takes to see my daughter happy. Destroy me with this. With me gone, this manor will disappear. All of the spirits I invited will be free." He said. Sonic held the glass shard in his hand. He turned back to his friends who stare back at him. Shadow gave him a nod with a determined look. Sonic gripped on the shard and stab the Phantom in the chest. The ghost lets out a cry of pain that echoes through the yard and he glows gold. He slowly started to fade away in the air.  
Then the place around the heroes started to crumble. The manor behind them started to fall.

"We gotta move!" Knuckles yelled. Shadow got out a Chaos Emerald and told everyone to hold on and get around him. Sonic held Sally and Tails. Knuckles and Rouge hold hands. Silver, Blaze, and Amy hold each other. Shadow raises the emerald and yelled.

"Chaos Control!" Then, the emerald started to glow and they all disappeared before the house collapses on them. The manor starts to sink down to the ground. Spirits fly out of the crack to move up to the heavens. They are finally free. Even Melanie. She is in her beautiful wedding dress, and her appearance is young like before. She floats above Thunder Mesa and let out a whisper.

"Thank you..."

* * *

Sonic opened his eyes and found himself in a room. His hotel room. He groaned a bit, rubbing his head. He took off his Jack Skellington eye patch.

"What the heck happened?" He wondered. He turned to the window to see the view of Thunder Mesa, and there is no manor. It is gone. It's over. The Phantom Manor is gone, the ghosts have moved on, and Melanie cane finally have her peace above. He could hear her whisper, thanking him for stopping her controlling father. Sonic made a smile.

"You're welcome, Melanie." He said. Coming in the room is his friends. Their costumes are ripped from the fight, and dirt marks all over their faces. Sally came over to Sonic.

"You alright?" She asked.

"Yeah. Never better. How about you guys?" Sonic asked. Knuckles collapse on his bed while Rouge is massaging his head.

"I won't be going to the haunted house again." He said.

"I won't be doing anything for a week." Silver said.

"If there's a haunted house, don't invite me." Shadow said with a look, crossing his arms. "Good thing we got out of there before we're crushed." Sonic chuckled at them.

"Wait till we tell our friends about it when we return home." Sonic said. Blaze and Amy rolled their eyes, but joined their friends in the room to relax after the experience.  
While everyone changed out of their Halloween costumes and took showers to clean up, Tails looks out the window to see an empty hill. The manor is no more. He had to admit that was quite the adventure, but it was a spooky one. The fox smiled and turned away from the window to get ready for bed. This is the Halloween that Sonic and his friends will never forget.

A mysterious tinkering of a music box is heard outside in the winds, and a music box plays a melody.

* * *

 **The End**


End file.
